Black Star Square, Elmina Dungeons, Makola Market- WHERE AM I?
Country #27 was the first country I traveled to in 2023 and the place where I celebrated by 35th birthday. 2022 was a pretty traumatic year for me. I prayed 2023 would be the year I get back my love for traveling and I think it is slowly coming back especially visiting the motherland. This country has a rich African history- the first West African country to gain its freedom, the Elmina and Cape Coast Dungeons(not Castles) and the Makola Market(one of the biggest markets in Africa)-Where am I?
G H A N A
Air Tea:
Lauren’s 35th in Ghana was 7 nights and 8 days. We left Chicago on Friday, but did not land in Ghana until Saturday morning. All 10 of us flew United Airlines to Ghana and both Brussels Airlines and United Airlines back to Chicago. I purchased a Premium Plus ticket was around $2200 round trip. This was about $600 more than the Economy ticket, but it was totally worth it to me. This cabin is between Business Class and Economy. On United, there are only 4 rows of Premium Plus- the seat configuration was 2-3-2. The seats were comfy, there was plenty of leg room and the recline was good. United’s entertainment and Wifi never fails. I love their huge movie selection. Each cabin had their own selection of food and Premium Plus had a great selection. We were served both dinner and breakfast. The free wine is a plus. On the way back to Chicago, we flew Brussels Airlines to Brussels and then United Airlines back to Chicago. The seat configuration for Premium on Brussels was 2-4-2. The recline was the most reclined I have ever experienced. You were very close to lying flat like you would in Business class. The movie selection and food were mediocre. I would fly both Brussels and United again. I am United MilesPlus member so I love them even though I have had a couple of unpleasant encounters with the gate agents.
Accommodations Tea:
Accra has many hotel options, but I am a luxury girl so I chose the only 5 star hotel in Accra, Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast Accra. I absolutely loveddddd this hotel. The room was about $360 a night which included breakfast(that I never made it to). I booked a city view room and it was really spacious for 2 people and clean. The bathroom was modern and big enough for 2 women to get ready simultaneously. The staff was amazingggggg and so accommodating even when they were fully booked. We requested an early check in and late check out for $150 each, but since they were booked and couldn’t accommodate us, they gave us free access to the Lounge. Eric, Daisy and Ada were absolutely great!! I would highly recommend this hotel.
Please look at my Accra Highlights on my Instagram, Lala_Gilly, to see the room.
Other good hotel options per my research are:
Side Note: The VPOTUS arrived in Accra the day we left and she stayed at the same hotel as us. There was also a huge conference that week as well which contributed to the hotel being booked. I personally got to see the President of Ghana walking through the lobby of the hotel. If you want a luxury experience in Accra, Kempinski is your place!
Transportation Tea:
We used Uber and Bolt(local transportation app). Ubers and Bolt were super cheap. We never paid more than $4 for a ride. Bolt is cash only(GHS) and we found it easier to take Bolt than Uber. The drivers on Uber would message us and ask where we were going before picking us up. If they didn’t want to go there, they would cancel. We had this happen a few times which was frustrating. To get around it, we would say it was a cash trip and they would be more willing. UberX and Bolt cars did not have AC. If you want a nicer car then you would select Uber Comfort. The cars do not sit more than 4 women. On the days where were all wanted to ride together, the hotel would provide a transportation shuttle for us which was $25 per way. This wasn’t too expensive for 10 people and it was a 24 hour service. The driver would pick us at any time, any place in Accra.
Story time: On the night of my birthday, March 21st, the hotel transportation picked us up at Bondai around 10pm. The driver had gone maybe 1 minute up the road and was asked to pull over my the Ghanaian police. The police officers asked all of us to get out the van and to search each of our belongings as well as the van for guns and drugs. We were all flabbergasted and very confused as we had just left a restaurant and we were all in sequins dresses(see pic on IG). Do we look like we can hide guns in these tight dresses? After getting out of the van, the police searched everyone’s purse thoroughly and the van and found…NOTHING!! We were all very upset, but kept our cool(well some of us did) and got back in the van to head back to the hotel.
Enjoyable Tea
Here is my entire itinerary! If you would like to plan a trip to Accra or any destination, J&L Luxury Escapes would love to plan your next vacation. Visit our website at jandlluxuryescapes.com and complete the Travel Request Form. We can’t wait to help you enjoy your next vacation.
Day 1- PAMPER YOURSELF- Ghana’s cosmetic prices are ¼ the prices in the US so we took advantage of the low prices
Knotless Braids at Bukslay cost between $25-$45 and that included a wash. The owner was super nice. The establishment was clean. 6 out of 10 ladies got their hair done. Tell them Jocelyn sent you!
Luxury Pedicure cost $20 and Acrylic nails with gel polish and design cost $23 at Nail Geek. One of the ladies had a few issues with the pedicure, but the owner came out and rectified the issue. The salon was not the cleanest, but the ladies really took their time to pamper us.
For dinner, we went to Pomana which was beautiful, but the food had mixed reviews from our group.
We ended the night at Front Back Lounge. This is a members only lounge, but if you are not a member, the entry was 100 GHS($10). This was one of my favorite lounges because they played Hip Hop. I am new to Afrobeats and SoCo music so I love a good 90s Hip Hop song lol.
Day 2- BEACH CLUBS- We started the day with Brunch at Polo Beach Club. Polo was recently renovated, and it was really nice. For brunch, you chose one entrée from 4 sections of the menu. It was a lot of food. It also included unlimited mimosas. Cost was 600 GHS($48). If you did not want the brunch menu, you could order off of their normal menu. We stayed at Polo for about 6 hours as it was getting crowded and the live band was a vibe.
Around 8pm, we headed to Sandbox, another beach club. Sandbox is owned by a beautiful black queen that I got the pleasure of meeting, Femi. Sandbox was stunning!!!! The food was amazing and the drinks were great. Femi sent over 2 bottles of Prosecco for my birthday. There was no cover charge, but a reservation was required.
I would highly recommend both of these places, but Sandbox has a special place in my heart because the owner was amazing!
Day 3- ICE- Some of us wanted to really immerse ourselves in the culture so we did ICE- Interactive Cultural Encounters. This is a 8 hour experience that we condensed into 4 hours. We learned about the Adinkra symbols and Ghanian names. We learned how to make batiks and Ghanaian food like fufu and jollof rice. The owner of the house even cooked a feast for us which was delicious.
After ICE, the ladies and I went to a Twerk class with Oye_Starlight. Whewww- this girl can dance and is so flexible. Dinner was on the fly at Babel- beautiful restaurant, awful customer service.
Day 4- CITY TOUR- We visited all of the historical landmarks in Accra:
Independence Square AKA Black Star Square
W.E.B. DuBois Center
British Jamestown
Makola Market Center- Largest market in West Africa. You can purchase anything from food to clothes to cosmetics to luggage here. We bought fabric for our seamstress to make custom outfits here
Art Center- The Art Center is more for souvenirs. NEGOTIATE!!!
Jubliee House- This is like Accra’s White House. Meek Mill messed that up for us so we could not go inside
Kwame Nkrumah Memorial was under construction so we couldn’t see it!
I got my make-up done for my birthday dinner by Plush Make-Up. Her and her team were fabulous and made me look flawless. The cost was 500 GHS($40).
Dinner was at Bondai. Myself and one other lady got extremely sick after eating here. I can’t 100% say if it was solely from this restaurant.
Day 5- THE CULTURAL TOUR- This was an emotional day as we learned about the gut wrenching, awful stories on how our people were taken captive. The tour consist of visiting the Assin Manso Slave River, Kakum Canopy Walkway, Elmina Dungeon and the Cape Coast Dungeon(which we didn’t have time to visit). We had dinner at the famous Mabel’s Table.
Day 6- THE VILLAGE EXPERIENCE- We visited the village of Akosombo where we had a naming ceremony and feet washing. We danced with the villagers and met the chief of the village. We wore all white to symbolize the rebirth of our Ghanaian names. My name is Adwoa which means “Born on a Monday”. We visited the Akwamu Royal Museum and had a cool boat ride on river. The tour also included a visit to Shai Hills Resource Reserve, but we didn’t have time to do that.
Our last night, we club hopped!
Bloom Bar was outside and beautiful. The owner Keith lived in NY so he wanted the bar to have the newer feel. The DJ played newer Hip Hop music. This was one of the few places that had any and all types of alcohol. My favorite bar of the trip!
Mood Bar was inside and was packed. The music was a mix of Afrobeats and 2000s Hip Hop.
Republic Bar is a small bar inside that locals love to hang out at.
Day 7- BRUNCH and BOUNCE - Our flight didn’t leave until 11pm so we had brunch at Rose Garden. The food and drinks were amazing. This was the first time I ate a meal since I got food poisoning on my birthday. It’s an outside restaurant and it super cute for IG photos.
We went back to the Arts Center to do more souvenir shopping. Bernice(Antmwaa’s Closet), our seamstress, came to the hotel to drop off our custom items. She made 3 outfits and 3 coats in less than 48 hours. I got a two-piece outfit custom made for 500 GHS($40). I will debut the outfit on IG soon!
We had the best tour guide ever and the best/safest driver in Accra. For all 4 tours, we paid about $260. J&L Luxury Escapes partners with this tour company if you would like to experience all of the cultural Accra has to offer.
All the Tea You Need:
You need a visa prior to visiting Ghana. The visa process can be cumbersome. J&L Luxury Escapes offers visa services to help take the stress off of you.
Make sure you take all of your vaccines and Anti-Malaria Medication which can be prescribed to you from your doctor to prevent contracting Malaria. Bring Picaridin Insect Repellent for your skin and Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent for your clothing.
As for most international trips, WhatsApp will be your BFF when it comes to getting in contact with most establishments you will visit especially if you have to make reservations prior to arriving.
The local currency is the Ghanaian Cedi(GHS). Please bring USD cash and exchange your money in Ghana. Make sure your bring big bills($100s/$50s) to exchange as the rate is better. The bills can’t be older than 2017. You should also bring a ATM debit card with no foreign ATM fees to get extra cash out of the ATMs, if needed. Fidelity, Charles Schwab, Ally are a few banks that dont have foreign transactions fees. Ghana mostly operates in cash.
Most Ghanaians speak English.
Ghana is known for having great food and it is cheap.
Uber is the main mode of transportation for tourists. Bolt(their local transportation app) can be used as well. Bolt is cash only and we had better luck with it.
Experience the cultural by participating ICE, visiting the dungeons and a local village.
Ghana has a good nightlife scene.
Ghana has good quality fabric and you can hire a seamstress to make a custom outfit.
Well, that’s your Travel Tea on Ghana
If you have any questions, feel free to DM on Instagram @Lala_Gilly. And don't forgot to book your next travel escape with J&L Luxury Escapes
